Deciphering the Kia Motors brand TVC

‘Huh?! What was that?’ – that has been the general reaction to the launch campaign of Kia Motors India, which went live earlier this month on TV and Digital. Based on “Magical inspirations” behind Kia’s stunning car designs the campaign seeks to bring alive the brand philosophy via the 360-degree multi-media campaign.

Founded in 1944, Kia Motors Corporation is the world’s 8th largest auto manufacturer and Korea’s oldest manufacturer of motor vehicles. In April 2017, Kia Motors signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the State Government of Andhra Pradesh to build a new manufacturing facility in Anantapur district. Construction of Kia Motors’ first manufacturing facility in India, worth US$1.1 billion, is currently underway. The manufacturing facility is expected to begin production in the second half of 2019 and produce approximately 300,000 units per year. While the model names have yet to be announced, Kia plans to produce a strategic compact sedan and compact SUV at the plant.

Kia Motors Corporation’s brand slogan – ‘The Power to Surprise’ – represents the company’s global commitment to surprise the world by providing exciting and inspiring experiences that go beyond expectations.

The India campaign – ‘Magical Inspirations, Stunning Designs’ – has been made on the deepest insight that there is an inspiration behind every great design and there are unique inspirations behind the design of every Kia car.

The idea is to build brand awareness around the elements that inspire the flawless design signature of the brand that is consistent across Kia’s product portfolio. Kia has always been at the forefront of cutting-edge design, a philosophy that’s resulted in some of the most iconic cars of this generation.

The campaign highlights 9 unique inspirations showcased in the TVC. These inspirations include The Astronaut, The Tiger, The Ballerina, The Humming Bird, The Slinky Spring, Fireflies, Felix the Cat and The Footballer and leaves a surprise element in the end.

Speaking about the campaign, Manohar Bhat, Head of Marketing & Sales, Kia Motors India, said, “This brand campaign established Kia’s emphasis on design and how it changes the design rule-book with every car it introduces in the market. Right from the world’s heartthrob, Stinger, to the latest sensation, Telluride, all Kia cars have their unique identity with a common design language that stands out. We wanted to take a fresh approach through the campaign that rightly highlights the importance of design at Kia and the inspiration that drives us to make stunning cars that we are globally known for. Staying true to the brand philosophy of ‘power to surprise’ there’s more to come via the TVC so, please stay tuned!”

In conversation with Adgully, Manohar Bhat sheds more light on the launch campaign, the surreal elements in the ad film, the brand philosophy and more. Excerpts:

What was the creative brief for the campaign?Kia Motors has always been at the forefront of cutting-edge design, a philosophy that’s resulted in some of the most iconic cars of this generation. We wanted to showcase this design-led philosophy to Indian audiences and surprise them with something that they’ve never seen before. A simple thought of what and who might inspire Kia designers around the world to make the great cars they do, became the starting point of our idea. This manifested itself first in the form of teasers, where we built intrigue by showing stunningly designed Kia cars along with completely unrelated elements in the form of an ‘Astronaut’ and a ‘Tiger’.

Design is the soul of every Kia car and hence, it’s the first brand to win fastest over 70 global design awards. Be it the Kia Global signature tiger nose grill design or the Straight-line design philosophy, every Kia model design resonates with the ever-changing unmet needs of the consumers globally. Be it the Stinger or the Sportage or even Telluride – every Kia model has brought a new, never before noticeable design trend to the auto industry globally.

The aim of the campaign is to create a never before impact on the ever-discerning automobile customers across the nation, leading up to the launch of the much-awaited Kia SP2i in India and by taking a unique approach to announce our arrival into the market via the TVC we were able to surprise millions of viewers. The TVC takes a very creative approach in depicting the Kia Design lab with all magical inspirations and how they all work in harmony to lend pleasing aesthetics to our cars.

Which agency has conceptualised and created the campaign?During the course of our India campaign journey, multiple teams and individuals have passionately contributed towards the final product at multiple levels/ stages and we appreciate all of them equally.

Client: Kia Motors India – Innocean Worldwide India brand committee

Creative consultant: Sideways Consulting

Director: Vijay Sawant

Production house: Hungry films

The inspirations that you have incorporated in your campaign film are quite varied. How did you select these inspirations?It all begins in a Kia Design Lab. The inspirations showcased in the campaign were well thought off as they highlight the deepest insight behind Kia cars. The astronaut signifies how technology meets endurance and innovation, firefly depicts luminescence, slinky spring demonstrates playfulness amalgamated with science, while hummingbird balances speed and stability and ballerina showcase poise, grace and unmatched elegance, the Tiger forms the most recognizable aspect of our design and personifies strength of the car, the footballer indicates skill and control. As for Felix the Cat, that is there to add quirkiness to the overall design and bring out the young at heart brand image. All these elements connect well with Kia’s design philosophy and, therefore, are a part of our campaign.

The campaign clearly stands out. Did you have an audience in mind when creating it or was it pure creative expression?Kia is a young-at-heart and passionate brand, which manufactures world class cars that appeal to the consumers beyond their conventional automobile needs. Our target audience is everyone who resonates with us, young-at-heart professionals who are tech savvy and aspire for a vehicle which is sporty, fun to drive and keeps them a step ahead of their peer groups socially. The youth is conscious of design and appreciative of styling and will be better able to connect the dots of these elements to the car. We truly believe in our brand philosophy and even our campaign has the ‘Power to Surprise’.

What is your brand philosophy on design and why have you laid emphasis on it in your campaign?Our design philosophy is in our brand DNA – that is to say, we are focused and give high importance to our design along with all the other elements. Over 70 design awards that the brand has received globally is a testament to the focus on design at Kia Motors. Design has been the key differentiator vis-à-vis our competition and the major attraction for the buyers and the campaign brings that out and how every Kia car goes through a grueling designing process. Through our campaign, we wanted to showcase the different design elements so that the consumer is able to well-connect with the brand.